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Hi from just above water level.

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Maybe this was the wrong time to join you as a survival course would be more appropriate in this weather.

Anyway it can't last forever and it will give me more time to read some more as I had no idea this hobby could get so complicated.

I have been looking at telescopes to buy and somehow got involved in mounts,photo gear,powermates,off axis guiders,inward focal travel,

focal lengths etc. and ended up totally confused. What I need is some advice to pull all the facts together and decide what to buy.

Hope you will be able to help,

John.

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jason.p

jason.p

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Welcome John. Can I assume you're not getting any clear skies of late :shocked: ? You're certainly in the right place for advice, just ask.

It would be useful to know if you have any particular interest (ie planetary, DSOs imaging etc) and some idea of budget. There's a wealth of expertise and experience here.

Good luck

Jason

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paul schofield

paul schofield

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Hi and welcome from me too. I have been actively into astronomy for 4 years ish, and in your list, only mounts and powermates oh and focal lengths mean anything to me. It is very easy to rush in and buy buy buy, but I would exercise a bit of caution before spending out the big bucks. You will get bucket loads of advice from the guys n girls on here. Astro-photography and Expensive should be side by side in the dictionary. Good luck and clear skies.

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glowjet

glowjet

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Hi John and welcome to SGL, the best advise is take your time, purchase a pair of binoculars and start to learn your way about the night sky, absorbing information as you go along. It will not be long before you will be able to come to a decision about the purchase of a scope :)

John.

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barkis

barkis

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Plenty of assistance is available John.

Buying a scope for the first time requires a bit of research first.

Decide where your interests lie first, ie, Planetary, Deep Sky, etc.

Also, don't be afraid to buy used instruments. Some good bargains can be found on Astro Forums,

and in good condition too.

We have a Classifieds Section, but there are preconditions before new members can have access to it.

Try and steer clear of ebay scopes, or at least consult on here before you commit your money.

Good luck, and welcome to SGL :smiley:.

Ron.

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Marki

Marki

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Hi and welcome

I sympathise with your confusion! Lots of sound advice to be had here! Key things to consider are what you really want or expect from the hobby...and realistically assess that against your budget. To some extent you won't know until you get stuck in...for example I had expected I;d like to do some photography, but it rapidly became apparent I had got the wrong set up from the beginning, didn't have a clu ehow to use any of it and that I actually was more interested in purely visual astronomy anyway. The advice here will hopefully help you avoid such mistakes.... :) - wish I'd found this forum before I got my wallet out!.

I;d recommend the book Making Every Photon Count (link http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html) as a good guide to getting started in astrophotography - it'll help you avoid potentially expensive mistake in your set-up if your interested in this aspect of the hobby!

Good luck!

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Lorne

Lorne

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Welcome to SGL John,

Check out Central Scotland Observers Group, a local group of observers who arrange short notice weather permitting observing/imaging sessions at a few sites near to you, you will be able to see at first hand the types of scope/ mount/ gear before you buy.

Google CSOG

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MorningMajor

MorningMajor

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Hi John and welcome, hope you manage to keep your head above the water

I'm not that technical, but I really think for your first scope you must try not to get too bogged down in all that "off axis guiders" etc stuff and read some reviews, try to get to an astronomy club to have a go with various scopes and chose what you can afford and what you think will work for you

Above all - Enjoy!

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ToxoLight

ToxoLight

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Hi John and welcome to the lounge, Binoculars are a good way to start off in astronomy, they are the best way to learn your way around the constellations (wide field of view) and will be a good grab and go even when you have a scope, hope thats not more confusion.

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